Clear the Clutter Challenge Day 4: Kitchen Clutter

Today we are working on kitchen clutter!  (I do so apologize that I skipped Challenge Day 4.  You never realize how much you need something until you don’t have it and a whole day without internet when you are trying to blog is a killer!!)

The kitchen is usually too much of a space to organize in one day, so we will just be doing a small amount at a time.  I just took the total number of cabinets/drawers and divided it up into fourths.  If you look at the Challenge list, there are several days dedicated to the kitchen–I don’t want you to be overwhelmed.  However, if you want to work ahead, that is totally fine.  I know what it’s like to get in a groove and not want to stop!

My kitchen is small, but oddly enough I have about 20 cabinets and drawers altogether.  They are all awkward shapes and sizes and it even with all that space, it seems like there is never room to store anything!  That’s probably because I don’t use half of what is in my kitchen, so today I’m going to start changing that.  If I don’t use it or can’t see using it in the immediate future, it needs to go!

It’s your kitchen, so of course you can organize it how you want, but I do have a few suggestions:

• Keep a running list of anything you get rid of that you might need to replace.  For instance, I need a couple of new dish towels and pot holders.  There are only so many times you can wash those things without them falling apart.  Twenty years is probably long enough!  I also threw away some spices that were (ahem) slightly old.  I won’t be replacing them all, but some of the ones I use seasonally, will have to be replaced in the fall.  I.e., whole cloves and cinnamon sticks…wonder if you can freeze them for longevity?!?
• Get rid of multiples if you really don’t need them.  We have a zillion coffee cups and a zillion plastic cups and a whole plethora of glasses that sit on a top shelf and never get touched.  I think it’s time to let them go.  The size of our household keeps dwindling down, but the truth is we didn’t use them all when everybody still lived here.  I have been putting things to the side to let the kids look through them (you know my kids are about grown, right?) just in case they need some in their future/current homes.
• If you have pretty things that you only use occasionally, but you just can’t get rid of, repurpose them.  I have a set of silverware that I bought years and years ago that still has the plastic on it.  It’s very pretty, but I’m not sure I want to use it.  I’m also not sure that I’ll get much money out of it, so I’m thinking Spizzie and I might learn to make jewelry out of spoons!!
• Toss the broken stuff.  That’s it.  Just that simple.  If you can make something cute out of it, I will give you a pass on this one.  If it has a frayed cord or something electronic inside that just isn’t right, it goes in the trash though.  Deal?
• If you have a lot of lids, find out what they go to!  If they don’t go to anything, throw them away or put a few (just a few) in your craft stash for now.  Plastic lids make great paint palettes and metal ones can be made into cute magnets.
• If you have a lot of plastic storage containers, get rid of a few.  My ultimate goal is to have all glass ones, but those are more expensive and will have to be purchased a little at a time!
• Put things where you can find them and organize them in a way that makes sense.  For instance, put spices near the stove and mugs near the coffee pot.

Now here’s what I have done so far:

• Threw away a whole bag of teas, hot chocolates mixes, and spices that were old.  (I won’t lie…I mourned those teas a little bit!)
• Emptied a drawer of dish towels.  Put some in the rag bin and made a note to replace a few others.
• Emptied a drawer of oven mitts/pot holders.  Threw away a couple that were falling apart and washed the others.
• Got rid of a couple of coffee mugs and reorganized the rest
• Cleaned out the silverware drawer.  (Just washed it all…nothing to throw out!)
• Cleaned out a cabinet of baking supplies.  Threw away old stuff and organized the usable things!

That’s enough for one day, don’t you think?!?  There is still plenty more to be done, but it’s nice to have a small start.  If I had a few interrupted days, I could probably get it finished a lot faster.  Of course, there is also the possibility that I would get really bored or really aggravated and give it up all together!!  Baby steps can be a very good thing!

Is your kitchen full to over-flowing?  Do you know where things are or are you more like me and aren’t even sure what you have?  If that’s the case, please join me on my 30 Day “Clear the Clutter” Challenge and let go of the trash to make more room for the treasure!!